Bike lanes are an essential…

Bike lanes are an essential component of modern cities that enhance people's ability to get around, both directly and indirectly. They make it easier and safer for active transportation users to get around, reducing vehicle congestion for drivers. Cities have competent planners designing road infrastructure. Adding a provincial layer of approval is only unnecessary red tape and additional costs to an already costly process. Furthermore, the province has not given indication of what kind of criteria it will use to evaluate proposals.

The language used in this bill is intentionally misleading and wrongfully implies that people must chose between highways and bike lanes. It wrongfully implies that bike lanes have a negative impact on congestion. It makes completely irrelevant links to rural internet.

This government is trying to distract people from the government's inadequate funding of public transit, it's obsession with sprawling suburbs, and it's reluctance to provide equal opportunity to get around for people who cannot drive.

I sincerely hope you withdraw this bill and let municipalities decide for themselves how to organize their roads and neighborhoods.